Well the time came to get another dog after having had to put Trigger down.. When I got Trigger I wasn't hunting geese, and he was basically a buddy to go for coffee with and chase a ball around the park.. After a year I got back into goose hunting and took him along more for fun and someone to talk to. I use to hunt alone for a long time.. Now I'm with 4-5 other guys..

Anyway.. I just got tied into a great looking yellow lab.. Avery.. and Yes I did get to name him. I want to get him started on some retrieves, but I have never trained a dog for hunting before.. I read over many threads,, CC,, FF,, TT. Ok.. I'm lost..

Any help would be appreciated..

Avery is 5 months old and was given up by his first owners after they drove over him with the car.. They didn't want to pay for the vet bill so left him for adoption.. Joann the vet called me, and in 8 weeks when the steel pin comes out,, I'll have a little yellow buddy... Ya Hoo Dad.. There's another boy in the house.....

My first advice would be to get a book, and stick to it. Very tough to do at times, but these guys know what they are doing, and there's a reason for what they tell you to do.

Pick a training method, collar, force fetch, etc. and match a trainer/author to that style, and buy his books.

That's my 2 cents.

Eric

06-03-2004, 07:53 AM

Trigger, I second what chcltlabz said. Get a book or two and follow the program (The 10 Minute Retriever or the Smartworks series by Evan Graham are great to start with). Above all, remember that it will take time. We get caught up in the "got to have it yesterday" mentality. In my humble un-educated opinion, one thing you have going for you is time. Time to develop a bond between you and your dog, time for the trust to grow between both you and Avery. Good Luck!

AKAREDDOG

06-03-2004, 02:24 PM

Lohlmans puts out a good cheap tape. I think I paid $16 to $20.
Its a great tape if your looking to train a gun dog. The best tape on the market for advance training is Mike Lardy "Total Retr. training", it comes with three tapes and cost $150.

Thanks Shane

Trigger

06-04-2004, 08:27 PM

Guys..
Thanks for the information.. I'll be checking a few books out of the library to see which method I think will work for me and then order it for continued referrance.. Training the owner is usually the harder part.. Seems the dog catches on quicker then the owners ..